Space Shuttle Thermal Protective Tiles Available for Educational UseNASA invites eligible U.S. educational institutions and museums to request space shuttle thermal protective tiles and other special items offered on a first-come, first-served basis while quantities last. Organizations previously allocated thermal protective tiles may request an additional three tiles.There will be a nominal shipping fee that must be paid online with a credit card. To make a request for special items online, visithttp://gsaxcess.gov/htm/nasa/userguide/Special_Item_Request_Procedure.pdf.Questions about this opportunity should be directed toGSAXcessHelp@gsa.gov._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Free Education Webinars From NASA Educator Professional DevelopmentNASA Educator Professional Development is presenting a series of free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources that bring NASA into your classroom. Registration is required to participate. Simply click on the provided link to register.Dawn at Ceres: Exploring Dwarf Planets in Your Classroom Audience:Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-8Event Date:April 2, 2015, at 5 p.m. EDTOn March 6, 2015, NASA's Dawn spacecraft became the first to orbit a dwarf planet. Dawn is currently orbiting and studying Ceres. This webinar will explore the Dawn mission, what has been learned so far and NASA education resources that can be integrated into your curriculum.https://www.etouches.com/121989MAVEN: Red Planet -- Read, Write, Explore Audience:Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 3-5Event Date:April 6, 2015, at 6 p.m. EDTParticipants will get an overview of the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, mission currently studying Mars and activities in the "Red Planet -- Read, Write, Explore" educator guide. This guide contains six activities focused on language arts, science and art. Discussion will include classroom modifications.https://www.etouches.com/122001MY NASA DATA and Project S'COOL Audience:Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-8Event Date:April 7, 2015, at 5 p.m. EDTParticipants will explore real-world data that NASA collects about Earth and experience how students can use scientific inquiry and mathematics skills as they access and display microsets of the Earth system.https://www.etouches.com/122006Mass Versus Weight: A Heavy Duty Concept Audience:Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-8Event Date:April 9, 2015, at 5 p.m. EDTMass and weight have different meanings and are often used incorrectly. Explore mass and weight using NASA curriculum that integrates education video filmed by astronauts aboard the space station. NASA online resources, Newtons Laws of Motion, and science, technology, engineering and mathematics inquiry activities will also be also be explored.https://www.etouches.com/122570Questions about this series of webinars should be directed to Steve Culivan atStephen.p.culivan@nasa.gov._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Earth Observatory's Tournament Earth 2015Thirty-two of the best Earth Observatory images will compete in Tournament Earth 3.0, but only one can be the winner! From March 2 throughApril 3, 2015, visitors to NASA's Earth Observatory website can vote for their favorite images from 2014, whittling them down each week in a tournament of remote-sensing science. The competition is divided into four categories: data, art, event and photograph.Voting takes place online, and a printable bracket is available to let you pick your favorites and track your selections as the competition progresses.To get started, visithttp://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/TournamentEarth/.Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Kevin Ward atkevin.a.ward@nasa.gov.

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Scholarships Available for 2015 U.S. Space & Rocket CenterSTEMcon Professional Development SessionsThe U.S. Space & Rocket Centeris offering scholarships to educators from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center's five-state region to attend a four-day professional development session featuring NASA-focused STEM content and resources.This is a terrific opportunity to learn new ways to bring science to life both inside and outside the classroom. STEMcon provides 32 hours of intensive classroom, laboratory and training time. During the program, educators participate in astronaut-style training and simulations, along with activities designed to promote lifelong learning. All lessons and activities are correlated to Next Generation Science Standards and other national standards and are ready to use in various educational settings.Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the NASA Competitive Program for Science Museums and Planetariums. The scholarship includes tuition, meals, lodging, lesson materials and a stipend to help offset travel expenses.STEMcon sessions will take place June 4-7, 2015, (arrive June 3; depart June 7) and July 9-12, 2015, (arrive July 8; depart July 12).STEMcon applications are due by11:59 p.m. CST on April 3, 2015.To be considered for a 2015 STEMcon scholarship, educators must meet the following requirements:1. Must be ONE of the following:-- acertifiedcurrent or practicing educator who is teaching science, mathematics or technology to students ages 10-14 and will continue to teach these subject areas through 2016, OR-- aninformalcurrent or practicing educator who is teaching science, mathematics or technology to students ages 10-14 and will continue to teach these subject areas through 2016, OR-- apreserviceeducator who will be teaching science, mathematics or technology to students ages 10-14 and will continue to teach these subject areas through 2016.2. Have not previously attended a Space Academy for Educators program.3. Must live in the five-state Marshall Space Flight Center service area: Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri and Tennessee.

For more information and to access the online application, visithttps://spacecamp.fluidreview.com/.If you have questions about the 2015 STEMcon opportunity, please email your inquiries toeducation@spacecamp.com.

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Free "Hubble Space Telescope 25th Celebration" Education Webinar Series From NASA Educator Professional DevelopmentNASA Educator Professional Development is celebrating 25 years of the Hubble Space Telescope with a series of free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about the Hubble Space Telescope mission, and discover activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources that bring the Hubble Space Telescope and science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, into your classroom.Registration is required for these webinars. Simply go tohttps://www.etouches.com/121324and register.Through the Eyes of the Hubble Space Telescope Audience:Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 6-8Event Date:April 8, 2015, at 4 and 7 p.m. EDTWhats the view like from the "eyes" of the Hubble Space Telescope? Become an astronomer by analyzing images captured by Hubble. Explore the different types of telescopes and how they observe our universe. Also, in this interactive webinar, discover NASA STEM resources and learn how to build a make-and-take telescope with your students.Hubble Math Audience:Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-12Event Date:April 13, 2015, at 6 p.m. EDTParticipants will get an overview of resources for teaching mathematics using the Hubble Space Telescope. Discussion will include classroom modifications.Hubble Deep Field Audience:Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-8Event Date:April 20, 2015, at 4 and 7 p.m. EDTThe Hubble Deep Field represents a narrow view of the universe, covering a speck of sky. Essentially a narrow, deep "core sample" of sky, the field is similar to a geologic core sample of the Earth's crust. Just as a core sample represents a history of the evolution of the Earth's surface, the Hubble Deep Field image contains information about the universe at different stages in time. Discover what the images from Hubble are telling us about the universe. Also in this interactive webinar, discover NASA STEM resources to understand the vast size of our universe.Hubble, Sofia and Your Cosmic Connection to the Universe Audience:Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 9-12Event Date:April 21, 2015, at 4 and 7 p.m. EDTIn celebration of its 25th anniversary, Hubble has revisited the famous Pillars of Creation, providing astronomers images in near-infrared light. NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, is the world's largest airborne astronomical observatory and features a far-infrared telescope. Together, these observatories help us learn more about the structure and formation of our universe. Come experience a "Universe Trail Mix" activity that demonstrates the role of the Big Bang Theory, fusion in stars and supernovae creating all of the elements on the periodic table.NASA Space Telescopes -- Past, Present and Future of STEM Exploration Audience:Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-8Event Date:April 23, 2015, at 6 p.m. EDTExplore the history of NASA space telescopes that expand our understanding of the solar system and the universe beyond. The Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope will be the focus. NASA STEM curriculum, online resources, careers and the Next Generation Science Standards will be integrated in the "out of this world" webinar.Questions about this series of webinars should be directed to Brandon Hargis.brandon.m.hargis@nasa.gov._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________Free Educator Workshop -- NASA Is With You When You Fly: Winging ItThe Educator Resource Center at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Palmdale, California, is presenting a free educator workshop onApril 8, 2015, at 4:30 p.m. PDT.As they study some of the basic concepts of flight, participants will learn about motions and forces, transfer of energy, and the abilities of technological design. Discussion topics will include the three axes of flight and the control surfaces that guide an aircraft. Make real-world connections with NASA research and the airplanes that are flying today.For more information about the workshop and to register online to attend, visithttp://aeroi.org/ercRegister/index.html.Questions about this event should be directed to Sondra Geddes atsondra.l.geddes@nasa.gov._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________Center for Astronomy Education Teaching Excellence Workshops -- Spring/Summer 2015

NASA's Center for Astronomy Education, or CAE, announces a series of educator workshops for astronomy and space science educators.These workshops provide participants with experiences needed to create effective and productive active-learning classroom environments. Workshop leaders model best practices in implementing many different classroom-tested instructional strategies. But more importantly, workshop participants will gain first-hand experience implementing these proven strategies. During many microteaching events, you will have the opportunity to role-play the parts of student and instructor. You will assess and critique each other's implementation in real time as part of a supportive learning community. You will have the opportunity to use unfamiliar teaching techniques in collaboration with mentors before using them with your students. CAE is funded through NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Exoplanet Exploration Program.April 10, 2015 -- Michigan State University in East Lansing, MichiganCAE Great Lakes Regional Teaching ExchangeMay 2, 2015 -- MiraCosta College in Oceanside, CaliforniaCAE Southwest Regional Teaching Exchange

June 13-14, 2015 -- South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina CAE Tier I Teaching Excellence Workshop for Current and Future Astronomy and Space Science InstructorsJune 22-25, 2015 -- American Center for Physics in College Park, MarylandNew Faculty Workshop for Physics and AstronomyAugust 4-6, 2015 --Honolulu Convention Center in Honolulu, HawaiiCAE Teaching Excellence Short-Courses on Active Learning in the STEM ClassroomAugust 2015 -- American Museum of Natural History in New York, New YorkCAE Northeast Regional Teaching ExchangeFor more information and to register for workshops online, visithttp://astronomy101.jpl.nasa.gov/workshops/index.cfm.Inquiries about this series of workshops should be directed to Gina Brissenden atgbrissenden@as.arizona.edu.

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NASA Education Express Message -- April 2, 2015